Adenovirus transmission can occur in a neonatal intensive care unit because of the instruments used during retinopathy of prematurity exams, according to a study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.  By Anuja Vaidya - 7/30/18

A study, published in the American Journal of Infection Control, examined direct human audit rates and compared it with automated surveillance rates for hand hygiene compliance.  By Anuja Vaidya - 7/30/18

The American Academy of Pediatrics released new guidelines on how physicians can clearly communicate infertility and sexual dysfunction information to younger patients and their families, according to APP News and Journals.  By Harrison Cook - 7/30/18

U.S. food safety regulators have recalled more contaminated products, such as Ritz crackers, Goldfish, Swiss Rolls, McDonald's salads and Kellogg's Honey Smacks, in the past two months than in the past 10 years, according to CNBC.  By Harrison Cook - 7/30/18

CMS cited Springfield, Mass.-based Mercy Medical Center after the hospital mishandled several high-risk obstetrics patients, including a failure to transfer a patient at risk for pregnancy complications to a facility for complex maternity patients, The Boston Globe reports.  By Megan Knowles - 7/30/18

Elderly patients nearing the end of their lives are increasingly placed on breathing machines as a sort of automatic reflex among physicians, according to Kei Ouchi, MD, an emergency medicine physician at Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital. "In the heat of the moment in crisis, it is easier for clinicians to just place a patient on a breathing machine," he wrote in an op-ed published in Time. "It can feel like an answer. But it is not always."  By Harrison Cook - 7/27/18

Hospital officials at Parole, Md.-based Anne Arundel Medical Center view gun violence as a public health crisis and want physicians to hold nonjudgmental talks about the gun safety with their patients, according to Capital Gazette.   By Harrison Cook - 7/28/18

Anti-vaccine groups are at the top of many vaccine-related searches on Facebook, and despite the social media giant's efforts to curb "fake news," the site is still a hub for theories about vaccines causing autism or other diseases, The Daily Beast reports.  By Megan Knowles - 7/27/18

As patients often wait months to see their regular physician, the idea of having a consistent physician-patient relationship becomes more challenging, leaving providers to question if they have a duty to keep tabs on their sickest patients, a physician writes in The New York Times.  By Megan Knowles - 7/27/18

Health officials confirmed four more cases of hepatitis C at Puyallup, Wash.-based Good Samaritan Hospital, bringing the total to 12, The News Tribune reports. The source of the outbreak is unknown.  By Megan Knowles - 7/27/18

Everyone is familiar with the classic television line when a woman unexpectedly goes into labor: “Is there a doctor in the house?”  By Donald U. Toatley, MD - 7/27/18

The U.S. is considered to be one of the most dangerous places in the developed world to give birth, according to a USA Today investigation published July 26.  By Alyssa Rege - 7/27/18

Fifteen years ago, an 11-year-old boy died mid-operation due to a blood pressure spike, causing his heart to stop. The cause? His anesthesiologist unknowingly administered the wrong drug. Ronald Litman, DO, a pediatric anesthesiologist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, discusses this medical case and offers solutions on how to reduce anesthesiologist-related medication errors in an op-ed for The Inquirer.  By Harrison Cook - 7/27/18

Federal health officials on July 26 reported  123 more cases of cyclospora infection linked to McDonald's salads, according CNN.  By Harrison Cook - 7/27/18

Catholic hospitals' right to refuse healthcare services based on religious or moral grounds can threaten access to high-quality, comprehensive reproductive care for Americans living in rural communities with limited hospital options, according to a report from FiveThirtyEight.  By Harrison Cook - 7/27/18

Roughly 50,000 women are severely injured every year during childbirth, while 700 mothers die. Approximately half of those deaths could be prevented with adequate care. However, a July 26 USA Today investigation found hospitals nationwide skip essential safety practices to prevent such outcomes.  By Alyssa Rege - 7/27/18

When hospital staff completes a series of clinical sepsis treatments and tests within an hour of its detection, hospitalized pediatric patients' chances of survival significantly rise, a study published in JAMA found.  By Megan Knowles - 7/27/18

CMS on July 25 added hospitals' sepsis performance data to its Hospital Compare website.  By Megan Knowles - 7/27/18

An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that started May 8 and claimed 33 lives is now over, the World Health Organization reported July 24.  By Megan Knowles - 7/27/18

Despite fears of the Zika virus' potentially harmful effects on pregnant mothers and unborn babies, the virus may one day be used as a cancer treatment for neuroblastoma — a deadly pediatric cancer, according to early findings published in PLOS ONE.  By Megan Knowles - 7/27/18